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Each society chooses which health care system objectives to pursue based on its culture, social values, political institutions and economic realities.The U.S.system emphasizes freedom of choice, demand-side policies to address cost concerns, and the allocation of resources by the market.The providers, hospitals and technology are excellent, but the system of organization, financing and reimbursement, within which they function, is cumbersome and inefficient.The ratio of specialists to primary care physicians is high, with increased demand for advanced technology and auxiliary personnel.Health care is thus technologically sophisticated, with high quality care for the insured, but costs are very high and the number of uninsured is significant.Americans spend less time in the hospital, but the resource intensity per hospital day is much greater, as are per capita and per day hospital costs.In contrast, many OECD countries adhere to the principle that all citizens have access to health care, regardless of the ability to pay.There is more reliance on supply—side policies to address aggregate cost concerns and in general these health care systems tend to deliver high quality care, are much less costly, have few uninsured citizens, but are less technologically sophisticated and are more likely to have queues for elective procedures.